Necessary Does not Mean Useful or Convenient
One of the most famous and important Supreme Court opinions is from the 1819 McCulloch v. Maryland case. It set the stage for massive expansion of federal power by incorrectly defining the Constitutional meaning of the word “necessary.” In its majority opinion, SCOTUS...
Did the Constitution Fail the People? Or Did the People Fail the Constitution?
Did the Constitution fail? A lot of people think it did. This popular quote by Lysander Spooner sums up the thoughts of many. “But whether the Constitution really be one thing, or another, this much is certain – that it has either authorized such a government as we...
The Sedition Act of 1798: Silencing Dissent and Sparking Resistance
The Sedition Act of 1798 marked one of the most extreme restrictions on free speech in American history, criminalizing criticism of the government and making it illegal to publish anything that could “bring them or either of them into contempt or disrepute.” The law...